Native American tribes are beginning to purchase aircraft ~ Travel and Leisure

Native American tribes are beginning to purchase aircraft. This may be because tribal officials and leaders are involved in more travels out of area for meetings and conferences. Tribes have also taken to lobbying which may necessitate frequent trips to Washington, DC. Then add to those needs that most tribes reside a good distance from a major airport, and simply boarding a flight may add up to half a day (or more) in additional travel time to just getting to and from the airport. A tribe possessing its own airplane or jet can take travelers to a gathering a great deal faster. Naturally, the biggest issue is the politics. Even corporate CEO's are under fire for flying in private jets.

Some tribes are trying to make air travel more accessible to everyone. Rural airports serve tribes located in rural areas. In rural airports there might not be sufficient travelers to warrant routine commercial service. However, tribes using their Bureau of Indian Affairs transportation money for aviation and leveraging Congressional help for rural airport projects have been able to establish some form of regular commercial service in their area.

An example of a tribe that both owns private aircraft and working for a regional airport is the Chickasaw Nation based in Ada, Oklahoma. The tribe has owned private aircraft for a while and is leveraging that usage with the Ada Municipal Airport. Recently, the airport commission added two seats for Ada's airport most frequent users, which were the Chickasaws, and the other seat was for Pre-Paid Legal Services.

This appointment has been no mere honorary appointment. The Chickasaw Nation is having an impact in who operates the airport as its fleet of jets uses Jet-A fuel. They want to make sure the operator carries Jet-A fuel (fuel for jets) in addition to 100 low lead fuel or Avgas (fuel for airplanes). It is this form of impact that tribal aviation can have on a regional airport. By carrying jet fuel the Ada airport can serve more aircraft and support regular commercial service. Without the Chickasaw Nation and Pre-Paid Legal jets, the airport would only need to carry fuel for airplanes, relegating the airport to another small town airstrip.